Just Joined and Looking to Connect with Fellow Ostomates

hey everyone I’m new to this group! I can say I have never met another ostomate in person 😬

Welcome to the group, Christian.   You're not alone in never having met another ostomate in person.  Neither have I, and I'm sure, neither have a lot of people on this site.  That's one of the things that makes this site so great.  If we can't meet someone in a similar situation in the flesh, at least we can talk to people who totally understand what we're going through. This site has helped me a lot....and I'm sure you'll get a lot out of it too!  Linda

There are more of us out there than you think.

You're right, xnine.   When I think about it, we've probably all met ostomates before.  We just never knew it.  lol

welcome

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Welcome! ❤️

Thank you! Yeah, it’s crazy that there are so many of us and yet so difficult to find an ostomate in person. It’s also because you can’t tell if they don't say anything, and well, I never mention it to random people, lol.

 

 

Thank you! Looking forward to getting to know everyone! 

 

 

Thank you!!

There are about 100 females in New Jersey and 80 males, you are the only one from Emerson. There are likely more that have not joined this site.

Hi Christian, I have a permanent ileostomy; welcome.

Welcome! I haven’t met anyone either. I have a colostomy but no date for reversal yet. My surgery and recovery were hell. I don’t want to go though that again, at least not yet. But in here you’ll find many answers and people understand how you feel...

We should host meet ups then ! Haha it seems most of us have never met another person with an ostomy, I’ve always wanted to go to a little get together 

Hello and welcome to the site. There are probably local meetings in your area that you don't know about. Do a search on your community; I did and was surprised that there were many of us.

 

Dan

Welcome to our world. I have both a colostomy and urostomy for over 12 years and have never met anyone in person. However, I did meet a guy from London who had a colostomy. It was nice talking to a young person who had the same condition I did and to talk about each other's challenges.

I'm sure it did for you. Learning how other people do their changes and tips and tricks is so helpful. We are all very much normal, just with a little extra equipment to deal with, lol. I got my ileostomy in 2008 due to an emergency from UC.

Hi Christian,

Welcome to the MAO site! There is very valuable information available here and lots of friends to make for life. I looked in Kyntown and they say there are two, so I'm not sure who the other is! There are meetings through my local hospital system that meet once a month with speakers. You may want to look there to meet another ostomate. Good luck and hope to see you on often! Puppy

Hi Christian, from the Midwest. I am pretty new to this site myself. I have met several people who have ostomies because I belong to a support group at one of the local hospitals. In fact, this coming Monday, Feb 11, we will have another get-together at the hospital. It is run by the ET RNs at the hospital. We have picnics, Christmas parties, and reps from different appliance companies come and talk. It's a great group. Check with the hospitals in your area and see if there are any support groups. Good luck and welcome.

Welcome and be sure and ask any question you may have. Everyone here is wonderful at expressing their thoughts on how they feel and what they have tried. Always looking to help each other.

Hi Chris. Our Canadian friend Xnine says there are about 180 people in New Jersey. I think there are more because I had trouble getting a parking space at Costco. I wonder how many might be ostomates. Just kidding, of course, but I capitalized the word because I feel like we're special.
Mike